Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1887-02-15
'Reioinder of the Anti-camden
Legislators.

| The twelve Democrats VINO re1aseo
! to enter the Democratic caucus of the
West Virginia Legislature have given
at length their reasons for refusing to
support Mr.. Camden for Senator
We give their rejoinder in full, as
follows:
CHARLESTON, w. Va, Feb. 4, 1887.
10 Hon. NJ. G,cinn aad Other Members
of the House Of Delegates Of Vest
Virginia.
GErLEMEN:-We beg leave to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your COM
munication this day handed to us in
reply to our former communication in
reference to the election of a United
States Senator. We did not prepare
our former communication with view
to its publication, but since you have
seen fit to publish both it and your
reply, we believe it to be due to our
selves to rejoin and to set forth briefly
the motives which have prompted our
action in refusing TO go into the eau
Gus held on January 10th, or to rec
ognize the binding obligation Of its
decision We have not concealed
from ourselves the fact that we are
the representatives of a constituency
to whose interests and wishes we owe
prior and higher allegiance than to
the dictates of any caucus. Upon a
legislative question it is not claimed
that any representative could yield TO
II Nfa ~ nithnr
obedience to the wishes of his consult
uents or his own conscientious convic-
tions of duty to the public interests.
We cannot perceive upon what low er
or different ground we can act in the
discharge of the high duty of electing
Senator. With this conviction upon
this subject, we, after the most ms
ture deliberation concluded that we
could not under the circumstances,
conscientiously support Mr.. Camden
for United States Senator. We found,
however, that by practices and meth
DDS which we could but condemn his
nomination in caucus was a foregone
conclusion. To participate in a cau-
Gus was to assist in his election, to
help carry out what We considered 4
deep laid scheme to defeat the will OF
the people of this State. This we
could not consent TO do. We realized
that Mr.. Camden had used the Fed
eral patronage in this State not for
patriotic purposes, nor even to
strengthen the organization of the
Democratic party, but solely to con-
struct a system of political machinery
to be operated so as to secure his own
reelection. 1t is only necessary TO
consider the various Federal appoint
ments for which he is responsible in
this State to realize the truth of this
statement. One of the fundamental
principles of our party has ever been
the non-interference of the Federal
Government in State elections and
legislation. 1t was the continued out
rageous violation of this principle by
the Republican party that led to its
overthrow in the last National election.
And yet this great Democratic doc
trine has been openly and t1agrantly
violated in this contest by partizans
of Mr.. Camden. In spite of Mr..
Cleveland's orders upon this subject,
we found that the Federal appointees
were seeking to control nominations
and carry primaries in Mr.. Camdcn's
favor.
eve found they sought to control
the press of the State, and we saw
them here in solid and aggressive
phalanx, urging Mr.. Camden's re-
election and seeking to influence men,
bcrs. The United States Marshal,
the Collector of Internal Revenue,
the United States District Attorney.
and a large number of their respec-
tive deputies, besides several Post
masters and other Federal officials,
who owed their appointments to Mr..
Camden, were here in Charleston for
days before the so-called caucus was
held. Besides large number of
other persons from different parts of
the State, whom we have reason to be-
lieve were brought and kept here at
Mr.. Camden's expense, all clamorous
over, that many delegates during this
canvass had been rendered, by Mr..
Camden, and in many cases had re-
ceived money from him to secure their
election, and it was claimed by Mr..
Camdcn's hackers that this placed
these members of the Legislature I'M
der such obligations TO him that they
could not refuse to vote for him. If
this claim was n valid one it could
hardly be expected to agree that they
should decide this matter for U.S.
We believe, moreover, that in some
counties where nominations had been
made unfriendly to Mr.. Camden an
unseen hand had placed Independents
in the field and encouraged them
to defeat the regular nominees. In
some cases even Republicans had been
put up and voted for to defeat the anti
Camden Democratic candidate. We
deprecate the humiliating position to
which Mr.. Camden's methods and
money have reduced the Democratic
party in this State. He has attempt
ed to sap it of its principles, its
strength and its manhood until its as
cendancy is measured by less than
600 majoisy, when it is entitled TO as
many thousands. Reduced to this
lamentahle strait he now comes here
claiming his great fibcrality in the re-
cent pomnoiOu So vp6f tIS Our born mo-